what the teens have to say about BBYO, part 1

Herni Melinsky is a member of BBYO Argentina. He just went to BBYO's Kallah Summer Experience to represent Hebraica so I asked him to write a bit on what BBYO means to him:

Writing from Kallah, I realize how important BBYO is in my life. This amazing organization represents a new concept in my Jewish identity and a redefinition in the word youth.

The BBYO-Hebraica Project started with the objective of participating in Google Hangouts with different BBYO members around the world. That was awesome, but then the possibility of going to the International Convention appeared. As a member of the Argentinian Jewish community,  it is difficult to understand what is BBYO because we have a really different system, so imagining something like the International convention is just impossible. 2500 Jews in one hotel together, is that legal? I realized that yes it is. I went to the International Convention in February 2014 and I then realized how amazing this organization is. I was with 100 internationals kids, I was hosted by an amazing family, and I came to understand the three objectives of BBYO: identify, connect and improve as a Jewish teen. In 2014 the BBYO Project Hebraica changed a lot, now our connection with BBYO is stronger. We started to program our own activities, we have different committees, and we love what we do...

Being in Kallah made me feel connected with my Judaism and with my global community but also made me feel proud of being part of my organization Hebraica.

But now let's talk about the people of this project. The first necessity to have an amazing project is to have amazing people and I'm proud to say that the people of BBYO Argentina are amazing. But I can't talk about Hebraica without mentioning two amazing people, our "advisors", Dani and Kate. Dani is our advisor and my mechanechet in the madrichim school. She is an amazing person,  an incredible mechanechet, an inspiration, has lots of passion for her work and is part of the team that mantains our project.

Now it's Kate's turn, what can I say about her? When I have to explain what she is doing for Hebraica I always say: "she is the bridge between Argentina and the United States". I can't count the quantity of things that I learned from her but I can say that she is an inspiration. I can't imagine our project without her. Kate, you are amazing and I will miss you a lot.

I'm really thankful because without Kate and without this fellowship we wouldn't be the same. So thank you JDC for sending us this amazing girl, thank you Hebraica and their directors (Hache and Jessi) for maintaining this project, and thank you BBYO because I can say that this organization has greatly influenced my life.

-Herni Melinsky, 16